Matt Kerwick, who led Cornell this season as the team's interim
head coach, has been named the Big Red's full-time coach, the
Cornell athletic department confirmed on Wednesday morning, and
Kerwick later said he is "excited and humbled" to take over one the
sport's traditional powers.

The search wrapped up early this week. Kerwick led the Big Red
to an 11-5 record this year and an NCAA tournament appearance.
Cornell lost to Maryland 8-7 in the first round.

"It was an opportunity for me to have a long interview," Kerwick
said by phone Wednesday afternoon on the road to a recruiting event
in Philadelphia. "I would have liked to play a couple more games at
the end with this team. I thought we could have made a run.
Unfortunately, we came up a little short against Maryland."

Kerwick did have a formal interview over the last two weeks and
it led up to the official announcment Wednesday. His phone was
buzzing with texts, emails and calls and he planned to respond to
messages, including talking to current players and the 2014
assistant coaching staff of Peter Milliman and MJ Kiekebelt to make
sure "everyone is on the same page," he said, adding he was excited
to keep the staff in place.

"I'm very excited and humbled to be part of this program,"
Kerwick said. "It's one of the great traditions in the game and one
of the top universities in the world. I'm very excited to get back
with this team in the fall. We have an excellent group coming back.
... I want to thank [athletic director] Andy Noel and the
administration for having the confidence and faith in me."

There will be a measure of consistency for the program heading
into the 2015 season. The Big Red also brings back Ivy League
Player of the Year, midfielder Connor Buczek, and Ivy League Rookie
of the Year, goalie Christian Knight, along with first-team All-Ivy
attackman Matt Donovan and honorable mention All-American
defenseman Jordan Stevens.

Kerwick, who has been head coach at both Hobart and a
then-startup Jacksonville, had been an assistant at Georgetown
during the 2012 season, after which he and the program parted ways.
On June 25, 2012, Kerwick pleaded guilty to a DWI charge in a
Fairfax County, Va., stemming from an incident in April of that
year. Kerwick had appeared to be a likely candidate to replace Dave
Urick, who retired at the end of the 2012 season.

"When I first came on board, I addressed the team [about it],"
Kerwick said. "Certainly it's a constant reminder that I'm very
fortunate to be in this position after my misstep. I owe a great
deal to Cornell University to have given me this chance. I'm very
excited to move forward and coach this team. There is such a great
culture in this program. The guys are extremely proud of the
tradition here and very proud to wear that jersey. To be the leader
of this program is very humbling to me."

"I am excited that Matt Kerwick has accepted our offer to become
the Richard M. Moran Head Coach of Men's Lacrosse," Cornell
athletic director Andy Noel said in a press release. "His
performance over the past two years has been exemplary and I could
not be more pleased that he has the opportunity to continue the
progress he has made with our program. I am keenly aware that Matt
has the enthusiastic support of our team, staff, administration and
our loyal alumni. Like them, I am most excited for the future of
the program with Coach Kerwick at the helm."